Icy Maneuvers
by BreadThief98
Summary: When an electric fence separates you and an underground market, desperate times call for desperate measures. However, Ezra's desperate measure results in his injury. Loosely based off of a scene from Catching Fire. All characters have their season 3 designs. Rated T to be on the safe side.


**_So this is a little fluffy oneshot I whipped up over the course of a few weeks. This is in Ezra's pov so I hope I did it right. This is loosely (and I mean loosely) based off of a scene from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (The book. Not the movie.) I am pretty sure this is okay but if I need to put it in as a crossover, let me know. Now, here we go!_**

 ** _(I hope the story makes sense. I wrote it out of order so...)_**

* * *

"Ezra," Hera calls.

I look up from where I am researching on my data pad and turn to find Hera looking at me from the kitchen.

We have been on this planet for about two months, staying in a cabin in a small town. The town is pretty small, and as a result, pretty much unnoticed by Imperials. We decided to come here to help make ends meet until we get caught and have to leave or we get called back to Atollon. The mayor of the town is under strict instructions to feign ignorance which would hopefully protect the town, but we still hope we get called back soon just in case. You may be wondering why they haven't caught us yet considering the fact we have a fairly large ship. Well, we don't at the moment. Chopper dropped us off in the Phantom and will contact us when we need to get back. So far, though, so good. Nothing has happened yet thankfully, mostly because this place is so wayward that the Imperials here have no idea what we look like.

"Yes?" I reply.

"I need you to head to the market and get some supplies. You know what I'm talking about right?"

The market. I'm not talking about the run down shack in town where prices are ridiculously inflated and the armed merchants have a buy or die attitude when it comes to their not so amazing goods. I'm talking about the underground market run by people who actually sell you stuff that is decent at a good price. Many people go there but the bad news is that technically, no one is allowed outside the town. The few Stormtroopers here basically trapped us. However, the Stormtroopers here turn a blind eye to the underground market and some even buy some of their goods there. There is supposed to be an electric fence, the key words being "supposed to." The fence is on only once in a blue moon. Kanan and I got stranded only once and it wasn't that bad. Jumping the fence was a bad idea so we ducked into a small abandoned hut and waited it out. Luckily, it was only about an hour. Plus, I found out that I make a pretty good herbal tea.

In other words, I like going to the market.

"I can do it," I reply. "Just tell me what I need to get."

Hera walked in and handed me another datapad. "Here," she told me. "Call one of us if you get held up."

I nod, turn my datapad off, and stand. "Dress warm," Hera added as I took the list. "It snowed last night and it's freezing out there."

As I pull on a heavy coat and get my equipment ready, I hear footsteps leading to my room. I look up and I see Kanan in the doorway. I wince, just like I always do when I see the mask on his face. Even though the mess that was Malachor was nearly a year ago, I still feel guilty for what happened to him and to Ahsoka. My thoughts are broken when Kanan speaks.

"You about to leave?"

"Yeah," I reply. "Just getting some last minute things."

"Here." Kanan walks up to me and hands me a few credits. "Hera told me to give these to you. Get some candy or something."

I smile and place the extra credits in my old backpack. "Thanks."

Kanan smiles and pats my shoulder. "Be careful."

"Will do."

* * *

I leave the cabin and step out into the icy air. We are fairly close to the edge of town, so as a result, our cabin is pretty secluded. I'm just glad we have an actual heating system. A few minutes later, I make it to the fence. I quickly hover my hand in front of it. If it were on, I would feel a tingling sensation. I feel nothing. To make sure, I listen for a soft humming sound. There is nothing but muffled silence and the soft cracking of branches. Without any hesitation, I slip under the fence and into the woods. The trees have subtle scratches in them, like a wild animal went crazy. However, they are man made, mainly there for days like this when the beaten down path is covered by snow.

I walk for about half an hour before I finally reach the market. It is underground mostly, in a cave that could be easily covered if someone big, like a governor, came to visit. It is very large, consisting of multiple shops and even a large area meant for sleeping in case it was too dangerous to leave. Like I said before, there are little to no Stormtroopers here and they don't pay attention to wanted status and identification. They know

However, even though the Empire barely exists out here, it exists, and as a result, people have little to no food and are very poor due to meager pay for hard work. That is why we are here. We are working to help other families help themselves. That includes selling supplies we picked up before coming here and buying necessities from the black market rather than the market where merchants go for high prices and what you manage to sell is taxed out of you.

The villager standing guard recognizes me and lets me in. I enter the cave, which is warm due to the multiple power generators inside. I head down the lit tunnel and into the market area, which smells like cooking food. I head to each of the booths, selling some items and buying others. I buy milk, meat, and of course, chocolates. I also gets some medicine in case we need them. Once I am finished, I leave the market satisfied with my haul.

As I am headed back to the fence, something ripples in the Force. I pause and look around, hand hovering over my blaster.

When nothing appears, I trek carefully. There's nothing out here, but I have this nagging feeling as if something is about to go wrong.

When I reach the fence, I pause. Everything is muffled. Everything except for the sound of the fence.

"Karabast..." I mutter. Why is the fence on? With a soft groan, I activate my comlink. "Hera?" I whisper. "Hera? You there?"

Nothing. Nothing but static. A wave of panic goes through me as I realize the comm system is jammed.

I need to get over this fence and fast. There's only one way, and it is a terrible idea.

I look around, looking for something, anything to help me. I could use the Force to jump over it, but I will risk landing too close and getting fried. I am able to go into an all out panic mode when my eyes land on a tree branch stretching at least two feet past the fence. It's skinny, but it would have to do.

I am both relived and nervous.

I circle the tree, trying to find a good handhold.

 _"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."_

Wow... Even the Force thinks this is a terrible idea. Unfortunately, I can't listen right now. My friends might be in trouble and I need to get over that fence. With numb hands, I scale the tree nearest to the fence. I take deep breaths as I carefully make my way across the branch that stretches across the fence.

I begin realize how high up I am. This is a really stupid plan and one I'll no doubt hear an earful about when I get back. I guess what Hera doesn't know can't kill her.

I am over the fence and about to jump when the Force screams a warning. Before I can react, I hear a sickening snap as the limb underneath me gives away.

My legs shoot straight down as I try to land on both feet. I see the patch of ice too late and prepare for disaster. As I slip, my body falls forward but unfortunately, my right leg, which missed the ice, doesn't. When I fall, I hear the bone break and myself cry out as white hot pain races up my arm right and my head slams into the ground. I lay there, the wind knocked out of me, as I clutch my leg and wait for the world to stop spinning. I don't know how long I'm there before I am able to sit up. I roll up my pant leg and groan. While it isn't noticeable with the pant leg rolled down, my leg is definitely broken. My head is pounding and the world is spinning slightly.

Great. Now I'll have to explain to Kanan and Hera that I hurt myself falling out of a tree. They'll love that.

I pull myself across the ground, hissing in pain as I force my leg to move.

Just need to get myself to...

To...

To...

Karabast. That's probably a concussion.

I see a large stick from where the limb snapped and I grab it, pushing myself up and getting as much weight off of my leg as I can. Tears spring to the corners of my eyes but I blink then back. If something's wrong, I can't worry everyone else. They have plenty of other things to worry about. With a sigh, I take a step. My leg hurts so much and I want so badly to scream, but if the Empire is onto us, I'm going to need the element of surprise. Me screaming equals Stormtroopers hearing me which in turns equals me getting shot. I can't help anyone if I get shot because I will sort of kind of be dead and...

My head injury is really starting to annoy me.

Just as I had feared, when I reach the fence, there are two snow speeders parked right outside our door. No transports yet, meaning the others are still being questioned. I quickly ditch my crutch and approach the door. Searing pain accompanies each step and it doesn't help that I have to hide my limp.

Taking a deep breath, I knock on the door. It opens and Hera beams at me.

"There he is!" she says. "Right on time!" I let my gaze flicker to the chrono on the wall. I am very late.

Everyone is in the living room except Zeb. Hera is in a disguise and her rebel badge is missing. Sabine is sitting on a stool in the kitchen. Kanan is leaning against the doorframe. Two unexpected guests make my heart stop for a moment. Two Imperial officers are standing in the kitchen. Fortunately for us, this planet is so backwater that the stormtroopers have outdated information on our appearances. However, if they catch on, we're screwed. They must have blocked communications just in case.

"Don't worry Soren," Kanan begins, "they're just here to make sure we aren't hiding any criminals. Your mother and I are handling this."

I nod, taking note of my temporary alias. "Oh. Sorry I didn't check in Dad. I couldn't call you and I got a little worried. I went ahead and brought the groceries."

"Good," Hera breathes. I shift my weight, pretending I'm casually shifting when in reality, I am trying to get some weight off of my (currently hurting like hell!) leg.

"Where were you?" the first officer asks.

"I was at the market," I reply calmly. "We needed some things and I went. It's so beautiful outside today and I wanted to get a good look at it."

"He's always been a nature freak," Kanan teases as he walks towards me. He had gotten a cane in case things like this happened. "Even a butterfly fascinates him." He pushes my shoulder down in a teasing manner. I try to turn the resulting cry of pain into a startled gasp. It fools the officers, but Kanan's face falls and he begins to probe me with the Force.

I wince upon him sensing my pain. I should have known there is no hiding these things. Kanan knows I'm hurt.

"What's in the bag?" the officer asks.

Kanan takes the bag off of my bag and dumps its contents onto the counter.

"Good," Hera sighs upon seeing the milk. "We were running low on that."

"I got the candy for all of us," I state, motioning to the bag of chocolates. Kanan smiles. "Nice to have something sweet around here." The head officer approaches the table and I begin to wonder if her companion is just there for dramatic affect. Or is it effect? Maybe it's affect?

Blast it! Can they hurry?

The officer begins to paw through the various medicines, food, and other goods. She's probably hoping to find something like fuel or weapons. She finds nothing of the kind. We're smarter than that.

A few minutes later, I am assuming the officer is satisfied. She gives Kanan a curt nod and they two Imperials walk out. A few minutes later, I hear their speeders take off. I'm surprised they don't take us in anyway. I've heard of cases where innocent people are hauled off and tortured for sport. I guess she has bigger things to worry about than a kid bringing his parents groceries.

As soon as they are out of sight, Hera quickly closes the blinds as my leg gives out. I slump against the counter. Kanan and Hera are at my side in an instant while Sabine goes to tell Zeb it is safe.

"What happened?" Kanan asks.

"Hurt my leg," I reply. "Head's pretty mad at me too." The world spins and next thing I know, I am in the cabin's reclining couch while Hera rolls up my pant leg. Her lips purse as she eyes the break.

"Hera?" Kanan asks worriedly.

"There's a break," Hera concludes. "It's not a bad one, but you probably made it worse coming here." She then shines a light in my eye. I shrink back and hiss at the brightness. She leaves the room and comes back a few seconds later with a medical scanner. She scans my head and looks at the results. "Not a concussion, but definitely close. What happened?"

Well, I can't tell them I jumped the fence. I'll never hear the end of it. "I slipped," I say quickly. "I was trying to hurry back when I noticed they jammed the comms. Guess I overdid it on the whole rushing thing."

"I can see that," Hera replies. It's obvious she know's I'm lying, but she doesn't push the issue. "I know they jammed our comms. I'm going tomorrow to tell the mayor we're leaving in about a week, sooner if they start putting two and two together."

I nod. Zeb and Sabine returnss with a medical kit and Hera looks at me, concern in her eyes. "Ezra, I'm going to have to set your bone. I'm not going to lie. It's going to hurt."

"I know," I reply. "I've had a bone set before." I can't hide the nervousness in my tone. Hera is right. Having a bone set hurts. Kanan seems to sense my nervousness. He offers his hand and I take it. Zeb and Sabine get a splint ready and Hera takes a deep breath. "One... Two... Three..."

With a sickening crack, Hera sets the bone. My jaw tightens as I suppress the cry of pain. My hand clamps around Kanan's hand so tightly that for a split second, I think that the next bone Hera has to set will belong to him. Kanan hisses slightly in pain. As soon as the pain in my leg fades enough for me to relax, I let go of Kanan's hand. "Sorry," I mumble.

"Not your fault," Kanan replies, rubbing his fingers. "I keep forgetting you have muscles now.

I give a huff of indigence as the others laugh. Hera puts my leg in the splint and leans the recliner back. She then leans the recliner couch back and breaks two ice packs, one for me and one for Kanan. She leaves and comes back a few minutes later with a mug of tea. "There's a sedative in there designed to knock you out so you can sleep off the headache," Hera says. I nod and down the entire mug within minutes. Instantly, my eyelids feel heavy. Hera drapes a blanket over me and eases a pillow under my head. I feel her kiss my head but I am too tired to protest. Kanan moves next to me and pats my shoulder. "Sleep well Ezra," he says. I close my eyes and the medicine takes over...

Hera lets me sleep until noon when she wakes me up to give me some food. My headache's gone and I can think straight again. I slept a long time, so it came to no surprise to the others when I quickly downed the mashed potatoes. My legs still hurts like crazy but I am given painkillers to help.

"I already contacted the mayor and Chopper," Hera tells me before leaving. "We are getting our stuff together and leaving in a few days. Don't worry about your stuff. Sabine and Zeb will pack it for you."

"Thanks," I say, itching suddenly to get off of this couch. However, with my leg how it is, I will need crutches to get around which is something we don't have believe it or not. When Hera leaves, Kanan and I are alone.

"So, are you going to tell me what really happened?" he says.

I cringe. He must have sensed I was lying last night. I guess there's no hiding it now.

"I...uh..." I stammer, trying to figure out how to let Kanan down easy. "There is a slight...possibility I may or may not have-"

Kanan cuts me off, knowing what I'm about to say. "You jumped the fence? Ezra!"

"The fence was on and communications were cut off! I thought something happened!" I argued.

"Ezra, we agreed jumping the fence was too risky!" Kanan replies. "What would have happened if you landed on the fence? You would have been killed!"

"I didn't jump jump the fence. I climbed a tree near the fence and then jumped it. I landed on an ice patch wrong! I had to get back!"

"Ezra, it was just a routine investigation. These Imperials may be ignorant but they aren't completely clueless. They were double checking! They probably cut off communications in case they did find us out."

"I didn't know that!"

Kanan pauses for a moment, probably regaining his composure. "You're right... I just... You know I hate it when you recklessly put yourself in danger, even if we do get in trouble. I'm just glad that it wasn't worse than it could have been."

"Yeah..." Ezra mumbled. "Sorry about that...and sorry about your hand last night."

"It's fine. It was just a bit bruised is all. How are you feeling?"

"Better. Headache's gone at least. I can think straight anyway."

Kanan nods. "Good. All I ask is that you're more careful in the future."

I look down. "Okay."

Kanan doesn't leave like I expect him to. Instead, he feels for the couch and sits next to me. "You make me worry, you know that," he teases. "I have a grey hair at thirty and it's all your fault."

I laugh at that. "Well, let's face it. Your life would be pretty boring without me."

Kanan chuckles. "Pretty much."

* * *

 ** _I am no doctor, and I've never seen a head injury before so please take it easy in that department. Hope you enjoyed! I really enjoyed writing this!_**

 ** _See you Wednesday!_**


End file.
